Eli Zablud, the Little Pros Academy founder, is like most parents of young children. He wants them to get the best start possible in what continues to become a more complex and competitive world. Since he and his wife worked in the family construction business, they, like many of us, had to depend on childcare facilities to help care for their children.

As our founder learned more about the care his children were receiving, he knew he wanted more than what the typical facility was providing. It was not that he felt his children were receiving poor care, but he knew that they were not getting the rich learning and development opportunities they needed to compete in today’s world. He was inspired to build a facility for pre-school aged children that focused on education and enrichment-- not mere babysitting.  

He knew he was not an expert in early childhood education. Nevertheless, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish, and set out to find the best talent available to help him accomplish it. The talent he found included:

Individuals associated with the University of North Carolina Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center who are experts in the development of learning programs for young children, including movement & sports skills development. Individuals with degrees in early childhood development who have significant successful experience in teaching and managing early childhood care and development centers. Individuals with advanced management degrees and extensive experience in teaching and managing childhood care and development centers. Individuals with advanced management degrees and extensive experience and proven track records in financing, building, and managing successful business organizations.

He listened to the experts in early childhood development. Armed with his extensive building and construction experience, he built the first Little Pros Academy facility to meet his unique vision of what an outstanding learning and development environment should be. He also had the early childhood educators and specialists develop the curriculums and movement & sports programs for the school.

 In August 1999, his vision became a reality when the first Little Pros Academy opened. Today, not only is that center a success, but there are three more facilities operating, with more locations in the planning stages even as far away as Florida.